Compressor valve with flat spring

ABSTRACT

A sealing apparatus for use in a compressor suction or pressure plate valve having a seat member with a plurality of fluid passage ports therethrough. The sealing apparatus comprises a movable plastic plate member having a like plurality of sealing members for juxtaposed sealing engagement with the plurality of fluid passage ports and at least one projection integrally formed on at least one of the sealing members and extending outwardly from the plate member in a direction away from the seat member for receiving a resilient flat spring member urging the plate member against and sealing the fluid passage ports.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the design of compressor valves and inparticular to a compressor valve which has a simplified design, reducedcost, improved reliability and reduced clearance volume of the valve andhence increased compressor capacity. Specifically, the invention allowsthe use of an easily manufactured flat biasing spring member to maintainthe valve plate member in its closed position.

Suction or pressure valves for use in a piston compressor are usuallyconstructed with a valve seat having concentrically arranged,ring-shaped, fluid flow passages. A plate member having concentricallyarranged ring members in juxtaposed relationship with the fluid passagesnormally seals the passages and prevents fluid from passingtherethrough. A spring plate rests upon the plate member and springmembers bias the plate member against the fluid passages to maintain asealed relationship and prevent fluid from passing therethrough. Whenthe pressure becomes sufficiently great in the passages, the platemember is forced outwardly against the spring plate and opens the fluidflow passages allowing the fluid to pass through the valve. When thepressure decreases sufficiently, the spring members force the platemember against the passages which once again maintains them in a sealedrelationship. Such spring members may include a coiled spring asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,307,751 and 4,184,508, a curved springplate as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,397 or a flat spring whichalso serves as the plate member as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,238.

The coiled springs disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,307,751 and 4,184,508are unsatisfactory because they require a greater space or volume in thevalve itself, thus decreasing the compressor capacity. It would bedesirable to make the valve considerably smaller in order to increasecompressor capacity. The curved spring plates as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,945,397 are unsatisfactory because the resilient arms of the platemust be bent or curved in a fixed deformable shape and the springmaterial must be bent in such a way that it is not stressed. It isconsiderably easier to make a flat spring. U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,238 usessuch a flat spring but it is unsatisfactory since the spring is rigidlyattached to the valve seat having the arcuate shaped fluid flow passagesand is in fact the plate member for sealing these passages. The flatspring plate is rigidly attached to the valve seat at two locations.When sufficient pressure is provided in the fluid flow passages orports, it tends to bend the flat plate about the attachment points touncover the fluid flow ports and allow the fluid to pass through thevalve. There is very little movement that can take place by bending thespring plate when it is rigidly attached to and forms the plate whichseals the valve seat ports. Further, the passages are not uniformlyuncovered and thus fluid flow through the passages is not uniform.Further, the spring plate material is dictated by its spring functionprecluding the use of desirable non-metallic plate materials.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art byproviding a valve for a piston compressor which is smaller in volumethan prior art valves because of its flat spring construction and whichalso has a movable plate member formed with flat concentric sealingmembers which seal corresponding ones of the fluid flow ports of thevalve seat. The movable plate member is biased in that sealing positionby the flat spring. The plate member is allowed to move axially towardthe spring plate when sufficient pressure is developed in the fluid flowports and thus bends or deforms at least part of the spring plate sothat the fluid can move through the fluid ports. The spring plate isrigidly attached to a guard member in spaced relationship with the valveseat.

The plate member which seals the fluid ports of the valve seat hasprojections on the flat concentric sealing members which extend towardand contact finger-like arcuate projections on the spring plate. Thespring fingers bias the plate member against the valve seat and thusseal the fluid flow ports. When sufficient pressure is applied in thefluid flow ports, the plate member is forced by the fluid pressuretoward the spring member and the projections on the plate member causethe spring like fingers on the spring plate to bend or flex thusallowing the entire sealing plate member to move away from all of thefluid flow ports simultaneously and uniformly and allow the pressurizedfluid to pass through the valve. When the pressure is reducedsufficiently, the spring like fingers pressing against the projectionson the plate member force the plate member back to its original positionagainst the valve seat and thus seal the fluid flow ports.

A hollow cylindrical spacer extends through an orifice in the platemember and contacts both the valve seat and the spring plate thusmaintaining a fixed separation between the spring plate and the valveseat while simultaneously allowing the plate member to move away fromthe valve seat toward the spring plate. A guard member surrounds thespring plate, and the sealing plate member and is attached to the valveseat to hold the entire compressor valve together as an integral unit.Guide pins extend through arms in the guard plate, the spring plate andthe plate member into orifices in the valve seat to align the springplate and the plate member and prevent them from rotating with respectto the valve seat or each other.

An important aspect of this case is that the sealing plate member can bemade of plastic. Plastic has the ability to resist impact fatigue,resist corrosion, tolerate dirt by embedding the particles withoutallowing fluid leakage and is light weight. Plastic can be injectionmolded to form the sealing plate members with the projections on oneside thereof in a relatively economical manner. However, such moldedplastic plate must have flat sealing surfaces in order to properly sealthe fluid passages in the valve seat. Because of the construction ofthis valve with a flat spring plate and the novel plastic sealing plate,the valve is smaller than those in the prior art which enables a smallercompressor to do the same job.

Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide and improve themovable sealing plate member for a compressor valve with the sealingplate member being formed of plastic and having a plurality of flatsealing members for juxtaposed sealing engagement with a like pluralityof fluid passage ports in the valve seat member and at least twoprojections formed on the sealing members of the plate member andextending outwardly from the plate member in a direction away from thevalve seat member for receiving a spring member urging sealing membersof the plate member against and sealing the fluid passage ports in thevalve seat member.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide the movableplate member with a plurality of arcuate concentric rings forming theflat sealing members and having projections on one side thereof andincluding means for enabling the plate to move axially away from thevalve seat member to uncover the fluid passage ports.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a flatspring plate in juxtaposed abutting relationship with a sealing platemember which has at least two projections formed on sealing members andwith at least one spring finger extending from a central portion of saidflat spring plate and resting on a corresponding one of the projectionson the plate member sealing members for holding the plate in sealingengagement with the fluid passage ports and enabling the plate member tobe forced against the spring member to bend the spring fingers anduncover the fluid passage ports.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide at leasttwo arms radially extending from the central portion of a spring platewith at least one spring finger extending arcuately from each of thearms to rest upon a corresponding one of the projections on the movableplate to bias the movable plate against and seal the fluid passage portsin the seat member.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a platevalve for a compressor, the valve comprising a seat member having fluidpassage ports therein, a movable plate member in contact with andcontrolling the flow of fluid through the ports, the plate member havingat least one integrally formed projection on one side thereof, and aflat stationary spring plate having spring fingers thereon to contactthe plate member projection to bias the plate member against and sealthe fluid passage ports.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus the invention relates to a sealing apparatus for use in acompressor suction or pressure valve having a seat member with aplurality of fluid passage ports therethrough, said sealing apparatuscomprising a movable plate member having a like plurality of sealingmembers for juxtaposed sealing engagement with the plurality of fluidpassage ports and at least one projection integrally formed on at leastone of the sealing members and extending outwardly from the plate memberin a direction away from the seat member for receiving a resilient flatspring member urging the plate member against and sealing the fluidpassage ports.

The invention also relates to a plate valve comprising a seating memberhaving fluid passage ports therein, a rigid, movable plate member forcontrolling the flow of fluid through said ports, said plate memberhaving at least one projection on one side thereof, and a flat,stationary spring plate having at least one resilient spring fingerthereon in contact with said at least one plate member projection tobias said plate against and seal said fluid passage ports untilsufficient fluid pressure in said ports forces said plate member againstand bends said spring fingers thereby uncovering said fluid passageports to allow fluid passage through said valve.

The invention further relates to a method of forming a plate valvecomprising the steps of forming fluid passage ports in a seating member,controlling the flow of fluid through said ports with a rigid, movableplate member, forming at least one projection on one side of said platemember and contacting said at least one plate member projection with acorresponding resilient spring finger extending from a flat, stationaryspring plate to bias said plate member against and seal said fluidpassage ports until sufficient fluid pressure in said ports forces saidplate member against and bends said spring fingers thereby uncoveringsaid fluid passage ports to allow fluid passage through said valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will be described morefully with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals representlike elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the novel plate valve of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in cross-section, of a plate valveassembly according to the present invention utilizing a plate memberwith projections thereon and a flat spring plate member having resilientspring fingers thereon in contact with the plate member projections tobias the plate member against and seal fluid ports in the valve seat;

FIG. 3 is a detailed vertical cross-section of the plate valve accordingto the invention taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the flatspring plate;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-section of a compressor illustrating thelocation and mounting of the plate valves therein;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a typical injection moldingmachine; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of one-half of the mold used to obtain the plasticsealing plate of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the novel plate valve. It comprises fourmajor elements including the seat member 10, movable plate member 12,flat spring plate 14 and guard 16.

Seat member 10 is formed from a plurality of concentric rings 18, 20 and22 having fluid passage ports 24, 26 and 28 formed in an arcuate fashionin the grooves which separate the concentric rings 18, 20 and 22. Theconcentric rings 18, 20 and 22 are maintained in their rigidrelationship to each other by connecting members such as 30, 32, 34 and36. A circular recess 38 is formed in the center of the seating member10 and a threaded orifice 40 is located in the center of the circularrecess. The threaded orifice 40 may extend completely through the seatmember 10 to the other side although it is shown formed only partiallyinto the seat member 10. First and second orifices 42 and 44 are formedin concentric ring 20 to be used with guide pins 118 and 120 in guard 16as will be disclosed hereafter. In like manner, the concentricallydisposed arcuate fluid passage ports 24, 26 and 28 extend completelythrough the seat member 10 to the other side.

Movable plate member 12 has a plurality of concentric arcuate sealingmembers 46, 48 and 50 for juxtaposed sealing engagement with theplurality of concentrically disposed arcuate fluid passage ports 24, 26and 28 of the seat member 10. This means of course, that the plate (andits sealing members 46, 48 and 50) must be flat and not warped ordeformed. The thickness of plate member 12 is determined by the workingpressure it is to encounter. A plurality of projections 52 are formed onone side of the arcuate sealing member 46 and a like plurality ofprojections 54 are formed on the same side of arcuate sealing member 48.These projections are positioned to enable even loading on the platemember 12 and thus prevent the plate member 12 from cocking. They extendoutwardly from the movable plate 12 in a direction away from the seatingmember 10 for receiving a corresponding resilient spring member formedon flat spring plate 14 which urges the plate member 12 against andseals the arcuate fluid passage ports 24, 26, and 28. The projections 52and 54 may have sloping or tapered surfaces 56 and 58 to provide slidingsupport as the movable plate member 12 moves toward and bends the springfingers of the flat spring plate 14. Such tapered surfaces 56 and 58 arenot necessary but are preferred to provide sure control of the rate ofchange of spring pressure by shifting the contact point with the springtoward its fixed end. Projections 52 and 54 are separatedcircumferentially and radially from each other to accommodate the springfingers. The projections 52 and 54 may have identical heights or, ifdesired, may have different heights to create a variable pressure onplate member 12 with change in distance of movement of plate member 12.Thus if projections 52 on the surface of outer member 46 have a greaterheight than projections 54 on inner member 48, the first movement ofplate member 12 will be resisted by the spring fingers seated onprojections 52. After plate member 12 moves a distance equal to thedifference in the heights of the two projections 52 and 54, projections54 will contact their respective spring fingers and additional springpressure will be brought to bear on the plate member 12. Thus the springfingers will absorb greater energy from the moving plate member 12 nearthe end of its travel path.

A hollow cylindrical spacer 60 has an outside diameter equal to or lessthan the diameter of orifice 62 in movable plate member 12 and circularrecess 38 in the center of seat member 10. Thus the hollow cylindricalspacer 60 fits snugly in the recess 38 of seat member 10 and allows themovable plate member 12 to move axially about the hollow cylindricalspacer 60 and away from seat member 10 toward flat spring plate 14.

Flat spring plate 14 is located in juxtaposed abutting relationship witthe plate member 12 and has a central portion 64 with an orifice 66 inthe center thereof. Resilient spring fingers 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80,82 and 84 extend from the central portion 64 by means of arms 86, 88 and90 which extend radially from the central portion 64. It is notessential but it is preferred that the spring fingers 68, 70, 72, 74,76, 78, 80, 82 and 84 all have the same arcuate length to give maximumuniform force with minimum stress at all contact points. Thus fingersextend arcuately from each of the arms 86, 88, and 90 respectively attwo different radii and rest upon a corresponding one of the projections52 and 54 on movable plate member 12 to bias the movable plate memberagainst and seal the fluid passage ports 24, 26 and 28 of seat member10. As many fingers can be added as needed for a particular valve. Thelength of the spring fingers 68-84 determine the positions of thecorresponding projections 52 and 54 on movable plate member 12. Theforce exerted by the spring plate 14 varies with the length of thespring fingers 68-84. The shorter the finger length, the greater theforce exerted.

The diameter of orifice 66 in flat spring plate 14 is less than theinside diameter of the hollow cylindrical spacer 60. Thus the centerportion 64 of flat spring plate 14 rests on and abuts against the uppersurface 92 of hollow cylindrical space 60. The height of spacer 60 isjust sufficient to hold flat spring plate 14 a fixed distance from seatmember 10 and yet allow the spring fingers 68-84 to rest oncorresponding ones of the projections 52 and 54 on movable plate 12 witha predetermined bias pressure. Guard member 16 rests on flat springplate 14 and by means of a stud 102 attaches to the seating member 10such that the spring plate 14 is held in fixed relationship with theseating member 10 while allowing the plate member 12 to move axiallyabout the hollow cylindrical spacer 60 towards the spring plate 14.Thus, the spring plate fingers 68-84 are bent as movable plate 12 isforced by fluid pressure towards spring plate 14 thus uncovering thefluid passage ports 24, 26 and 28 in seating member 10.

Guard member 16 comprises a circular ring 96 which rests on the outeredge of outer concentric ring 18 of seat member 10. A centralcylindrical portion 98 has an outside diameter substantially equal to orless than the inside diameter of the hollow cylindrical spacer 60 forinsertion through the spring plate orifice 66 and into the hollowcylindrical spacer 60. A threaded orifice 100 extends through thecentral cylindrical portion 98 of guard member 16. A threaded stud 102has a first threaded portion 104 (either right or left hand butpreferably left hand) which engage the threaded orifice 100 in thecentral cylindrical portion 98 of guard 16 and a second threaded portion106 (of opposite thread hand left or right to first threaded portion104) which engages the threaded orifice 40 in the valve seat member 10thereby attaching the guard 16 securely to valve seat member 10. Aninternal hex 101 is formed in the stud 102 to enable it to be readilyinserted or removed with an Allen wrench. A plurality of arms 108, 110and 112 extend radially between the central cylindrical portion 98 andthe circular ring 96 to form a unitary guard element 16. Thus, guardelement 16 in combination with the hollow cylindrical spacer 60 allowsthe entire plate valve comprised of parts 10, 12, 14 and 16 to be formedin a unitary assembly.

As can be seen in FIG. 5 the plate valve 8 serves as an input valve incompressor 6 and plate valve 8' serves as an output valve in compressor6. It will be noted that cylindrical body 130 has a shoulder 132 whichrests on the outer ledge 11 (FIG. 3) of guard 16. It will also be seenthat shoulder 134 of frame portion 136 rests against the outer edge 96on the underside of valve seat member 10. Plate valve 8' is reversed inthe other side of compressor 6. Thus plate valves 8 and 8' are rigidlyheld in position in the compressor. Because of this mountingarrangement, the guard 16 serves to prevent damage to the compressor ifstud 102 should fail. To prevent any part of a broken stud 102 workingits way into the compressor, the orifice 100 in the center cylindricalportion 98 of guard 16 is tapped from the surface installed closer tothe seat 10 and is not threaded all the way through the other surface.In such case, all of the elements of valves 8 and 8' would be maintainedin their proper relationship by shoulder 132 of cylindrical body 130resting on the outer ledge 11 and shoulder 134 resting against outeredge 96 of guard 16. It will be understood that the plate valves 8 and8' will function properly without guard 16. Guard 16, as indicated,captures stud 102 if it fails, serves as a stop for plate member 12 andis a support for spring plate 14. All of the above features, exceptcapturing stud 102, could be accomplished with the use of a bolt andwasher positioned over the center position 64 of spring plate 14 andthreadedly engaging an orifice in stud 102 or directly into seat orifice40. The use of guard 16 is preferred, however.

In operation either as a pressure valve or a suction valve, plate member12 with sealing members 46, 48 and 50 rest on and seal arcuate fluidports 24, 26 and 28 of valve seat member 10. The spring fingers 68-84 offlat spring plate 14 rest on corresponding projections 52 and 54 on oneside of the sealing members 46, 48 and 50 of the movable plate member 12thus biasing the plate member 12 against valve seat member 10 tosecurely seal the fluid ports 24, 26 and 28. When the pressure of thefluid in the arcuate fluid ports 24, 26 and 28 of seat member 10 becomessufficiently great, either due to pressure or suction from thecompressor, the plate member 12 is forced away from seat member 10towards flat spring plate 14. Since projections 52 and 54 on movableplate member 12 are resting against the spring fingers 68-84 of flatspring plate 14, the moving action of plate 12 forces spring fingers68-84 outwardly through bending and thus plate member 12 is allowed tomove toward flat spring plate 14 even though the central portion 64 offlat spring plate 14 is held stationary or fixed with respect to seatmember 10. This action, of course, uniformly opens the fluid ports 24,26 and 28 and allows the fluid in fluid ports 24, 26 and 28 of valveseat member 10 to pass through the valve including orifices 116 ofmovable plate 12. With the novel arrangement of the present invention,the plate member 14 can move a much greater range of travel than in theprior art valves. As the plate member 14 moves against the springfingers 68-84, the sloping shoulders 56 and 58 of projections shifttheir points of contact with the fingers 68-84 toward their fixed endsthereby causing a rapid increase of spring finger pressure on platemember 14 and halting movement of the plate member 14.

It will be noted that guide pins 118 and 120 are fixedly mounted inorifices 122 and 124 in guard member 16 and extend through spaces 126and 128 of flat spring plate 14 and ports 116 of movable plate member 12to engage orifices 42 and 44 of seat member 10. These guide pins allowthe flat spring plate and movable plate member 12 to be aligned properlywith respect to each other and to prevent any rotation of the plates.

When the pressure in fluid ports 24, 26 and 28 is reduced sufficientlyto a level below that force generated by the spring plate fingers 68-84,the movable plate member 12 is returned to its normal sealing position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in cross-section, of the compressorvalve assembly according to the present invention in its unitary state.As can be seen in FIG. 2, seat member 10 has the arcuate fluid ports 24,26 and 28 each of which is sealed by the lower surface of sealingmembers 46, 48 and 50 of movable plate member 12. Spring fingers 68 and70 and 80 and 82 rest on projections 52 while spring fingers 72 and 84rest upon projections 54 on movable plate 12. Since the central portion64 of flat spring plate 14 is resting in a fixed position on the upperedge 92 of hollow cylindrical spacer 60, spring fingers 68-84 areresting upon projections 52 and 54, with a biasing pressure which urgesmovable plate member 12 against seat member 10 to seal the fluid ports24, 26 and 28. When sufficient pressure or suction is applied throughports 24, 26 and 28, plate member 12 is forced in a direction towardflat spring plate 14.

As can be seen in FIG. 2 the inside diameter of the inner most flatsurface ring 50 of movable plate member 12 is on the outside ofcylindrical spacer 60. Thus spacer 60 allows and guides the movement ofplate 12 in its axial direction. Since radial arms 86 and 90 of flatspring plate 14 are under the radial arms 112 and 108 of the guard 16,they are held rigid and prevented from moving and since the centralportion 64 of the flat spring plate 14 is also under the arms 108, 110and 112 of guard 16 it cannot move and is held in fixed relationship tothe seat member 10. However, the fingers 68-84 are made of a resilientmaterial such as steel and can bend and move outwardly in the open spacebetween the arms 108, 110 and 112 of the guard 16. This constructionallows the movable plate member 12 to move toward the flat spring plate14 and because plate 12 has projections 52 and 54 thereon, the movementof plate member 12 axially about the hollow cylindrical spacer 60 towardthe spring plate 14 thereby bends only the spring plate fingers 68-84and allows the fluid passage ports 24, 26 and 28 to be simultaneouslyand uniformly uncovered by the movement of the plate member 12. Thesmall amount of travel or acceleration distance, L, (see FIG. 3) of acorresponding plate member 12 in the prior art (0.140 inches in U.S.Pat. No. 4,184,508) allows for little change of pressure, F_(L), onplate member 12 over that distance regardless of the area of fluidpassage ports such as 24, 26 and 28 or the area of the fluid passageports 116 in plate member 12. With the greater travel distance, L, ofthe present invention (0.170 to 0.200 inches because of the flat springand sealing plate construction), the areas of the fluid passage ports24, 26 and 28 in seat member 10 and movable plate member 12 become theessential limiting factors for change in pressure on plate member 12.This increased travel distance, L, further enhances fluid flow throughthe valve.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the novel plate valve taken alonglines 3--3 of FIG. 2. It can be more clearly seen in FIG. 3 how thespring finger 80 rests on projection 52 and spring finger 84 rests onprojection 54.

Although threaded orifice 40 in seat member 10 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2,and 3 to be partially formed in base member 10, it may be extended allthe way through base member 10 in order that the valve can be mountedwith a bolt in some installations.

The seat member 10 is preferably made of steel but could be cast andwould require more or less machining depending upon how the seat member10 is made.

Movable plate member 12 is preferably made of a plastic formed byinjection molding. It of course, may also be made of metal such as steelbut the results are not as satisfactory as with plastic. As iswell-known in injection molding, the plastic is softened by being passedalong a heated barrel by means of a reciprocating screw. The screw hasthe additional function of a ram which injects the softened plastic veryrapidly into a cooler steel mold at a high pressure. After cooling, ofcourse, the mold is opened and the article is removed. In the presentcase, polyetheretherketone polymer pellets are dried for at least threehours of a temperature of about 150° centigrade to remove moisture fromthe pellets. The dried polymer pellets are then fed into a heatedreciprocating screw barrel of a center feed mold. The reciprocatingscrew barrel of the mold is heated to a temperature in the range of350°-380° C. for receiving and melting the polymer pellets. The molditself is heated to a temperature in the range of 150°-180° C. prior toreceiving the melted polymer from the reciprocating screw barrel. Themold is then filled with the melted polymer by means of thereciprocating screw in the barrel which obtains proper mixing andpressurizing of the polymer. Once the mold is filled, the temperature ofthe mold is raised to 300° C.±5° C. to anneal the plastic in the mold.This temperature is maintained for a period of two to five minutes toexpand the polymer to fill the entire mold and relieve stress in themolded plate. An empirically designed gated mold is utilized instead ofthe typical flow mold so as to minimize knit lines. As used herein "acenter gated" mold means essentially a single injection location nearthe center of the mold as opposed to a host of separate injectionlocations at multiple points on the mold.

A typical injection molding machine is shown in diagrammatic form inFIG. 6. A motor 138, such as a hydraulic motor, may be used to turn areciprocating screw 145 in an injection cylinder or barrel 144.Hydraulic cylinder and piston 140 allow the screw 145 to reciprocate.Hopper 142 contains the dried polymer pellets which are to be fed intothe barrel 144 by the reciprocating screw 145. The barrel 144 is heatedto a temperature in the range of 350°-380° C. to melt the polymerpellets. A nozzle 146 center feeds the melted plastic through a fixedplaten 148 which is coupled to a first half 151 of the mold. The otherhalf of the mold 152 is held by movable platen 154 so that the two moldhalves 151 and 152 can be moved apart or together by means of hydrauliccylinder and piston 156. The entire assembly is mounted on a base 158.The machine is typical in the art and is old and well-known.

It is imperative, however, that the steps set forth above be followed insequence and in detail to obtain a plate which is flat so that it canproperly seal the fluid flow orifices in the valve and which has minimumstresses in it. Those steps, again, are:

1. Drying the polymer pellets for a minimum of three hours at 150° C.;

2. Injecting the polymer into a center gated mold by means of aninjector coupled to a barrel with a reciprocating screw and wherein thebarrel is heated to a temperature in the range of 350°-380° C. and themold is heated to a temperature in the range of 150°-180° C.; and

3. Raising the temperature of the mold to 300° C. ±5° C. and holdingthat temperature for two to five minutes to anneal the plastic plate inthe mold.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of one-half 152 of the mold illustrating the flowof the plastic through the mold to minimize the number of knit lines onthe plastic plate and to cause the knit lines to be located at points ofreinforced thickness to minimize stress and increase the life of theplate. These knit lines are caused to be located at the center of theprojections or nubs on the plate. As shown in FIG. 7, the center gatedmold allows the plastic to flow uniformly about the center island 168 asindicated by the arrows 170 such that the flow of plastic along lines172, 174, 175, 176, 178, 180, 182 and 184 causes knit lines to be formedwhere indicated by the numeral 160 at the center of the location ofprojections 54 and 162. The flow is shown in only one area of the moldto simplify the drawings.

The diameter of plate 152 about which the bending stress will occur willalways fall through the center of one of the projections or nubs 54 onan inner ring. Thus if pressure is applied to nubs 162 and 164 on theouter ring as shown in FIG. 7, the bending moment will be about diameter166. It will be noted that diameter 166 lies along the center line ofone of the nubs 54 on the middle ring. Close inspection of the mold half152 shown in FIG. 7 will indicate that for pressure applied to any twoof the projections on the outer ring, the resultant bending torque willfall across one of the projections 54 on the middle ring. In likemanner, pressure applied to any two of the projections 54 on the middlering will cause a bending stress or torque which passes through one ofthe projections on the outer ring. Since a greater thickness of materialis required to form the projections on the middle and outer rings,additional strength is provided at those stress points where the knitlines are formed. Thus where the bending stress lines pass throughportions of the plate of normal thickness, no knit lines occur and wherethe stress line passes through the location of a knit line, an extrathick material is used to form the projection and thus extra strength isprovided at that location.

It is evident that with the process as set forth above and the molddesigned as indicated in FIG. 7, a plastic sealing plate is obtainedwhich does not warp but stays flat without substantial additionalmachining. In addition, the number of knit lines on the plate areminimized and those that are formed are located at points of minimumstress because of the thickness of the material at those points. Thusthe life of the plate is increased.

Flat spring plate 14 may be laser cut of spring steel or it could alsobe formed by stamping. It is important that the plate member be formedin a flat configuration. It is difficult to form spring plates withconvex or concave curved fingers. A flat plate is simple and economicalto construct and by placing the projections 52 and 54 on movable platemember 12, a compact configuration can be obtained with extremelyefficient operation of the device.

The guard 16 may be made in any well known manner such as by casting orcutting or welding. The device could operate of course without guard 16as stated earlier but it serves to hold the assembly together withoutloss of parts into the compressor upon failure of stud 102.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alterative embodiment of spring plate14. In this embodiment, the projections 52 and 54 are placed on the endsof the resilient fingers 68-84 instead of on the sealing members 46, 48and 50 of movable plate member 12. The same operation occurs asdiscussed previously. In this embodiment, however, movable plate member12 is flat and has no projections thereon since the projections 52 and54 are formed on corresponding ones of the spring fingers 68-84.

Thus there has been disclosed a novel plate valve which utilizes a flatplate spring to bias a plastic movable plate member against the orificesin the seat member to seal the orifices until the pressure becomessufficiently great. Because the spring plate is flat it is simple andeconomical to construct and because the movable plate member hasprojections thereon for receiving spring fingers from the spring platethere is sufficient spacing between the movable plate and the springplate to allow the movable plate travel significantly increaseddistances to open or uncover the orifices in the seat member to enableproper operation of the valve and yet the valve is much smaller in sizethan the normal plate valve thus allowing a greater compressorefficiency.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention tothe particular form set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended tocover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

I claim:
 1. A sealing apparatus for use in a compressor suction orpressure plate valve having a seat member, with a plurality of fluidpassage ports therethrough, said sealing apparatus comprising:a. amovable plate member having a like plurality of sealing members forjuxtaposed sealing engagement with said plurality of fluid passage portsin said seat member, and b. at least one projection integrally formed onat least one of said sealing members and extending outwardly from saidplate member in a direction away from said seat member for receiving aresilient flat spring member urging said plate member against andsealing said fluid passage ports.
 2. A sealing apparatus as in claim 1wherein said spring member comprises:a. a flat spring plate injuxtaposed abutting relationship with said plate member and having acentral portion, b. at least one resilient flat spring finger extendingfrom said central portion and resting on a corresponding one of saidprojections on said plate member sealing members for holding said platemember in sealing engagement with said seat member fluid passage ports,and c. means for holding said spring plate in a fixed position withrespect to said seat member such that sufficient pressure in said fluidpassage ports forces said movable plate member toward and bends said atleast one spring finger so as to uncover said fluid passage ports, saidat least one spring finger returning said plate member to its originalsealing position when said fluid pressure is sufficiently reduced.
 3. Asealing apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said movable plate memberfurther comprises:a. a plurality of arcuate concentric rings formingsaid sealing members with said projections thereon, and b. means forenabling said plate to move axially away from said seat member touncover said fluid passage ports.
 4. A sealing apparatus as in claim 3wherein said flat spring plate further comprises:a. at least two armsradially extending from said central portion, and b. at least one ofsaid spring fingers extending arcuately from each of said arms to restupon a corresponding one of said projections on said movable plate tobias said movable plate against and seal said fluid passage ports insaid seat member.
 5. A sealing apparatus as in claim 4 furthercomprising a plurality of said spring fingers of equal lengthconcentrically extending arcuately from each of said arms at differentradii to rest upon corresponding ones of said projections on saidarcuate concentric rings forming said movable plate sealing members. 6.A sealing apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said means for holding saidspring plate in a fixed position with respect to said seat memberfurther comprises:a. a recess in the center of said seat member, b. anorifice in the center of each of said plate member and said flat springplate, said orifice in said plate member having a diameter approximatelyequal to but greater than said seat member recess and said orifice insaid spring plate having a diameter less than said seat member recess,c. a hollow cylindrical spacer seated in said seat member recess andextending through said orifice in said plate member and resting againstsaid spring plate, the inside diameter of said cylindrical spacer beinggreater than the diameter of said orifice in said spring plate, d. aguard member resting on said spring plate, and e. means for attachingsaid guard member to said seat member in fixed relationship to saidspring plate and said seat member while allowing said movable platemember to move axially about said hollow cylindrical spacer towards saidspring plate to uncover said fluid passage ports in said seat memberwhile only bending said spring plate fingers.
 7. A sealing apparatus asin claim 6 wherein said guard member comprises:a. a circular ring forresting on the outer edge of said seat member, b. a central cylindricalportion having an outside diameter substantially equal to th insidediameter of said hollow cylindrical spacer for insertion through saidspring plate orifice into said hollow cylindrical spacer, c. a pluralityof arms extending radially between and connecting said centralcylindrical portion and said circular ring, d. a threaded orifice formedin said central cylindrical portion, e. a threaded orifice in said seatmember, and f. a threaded stud engaging said threaded orifice in saidcentral cylindrical portion and said threaded orifice in said seatmember thereby attaching said guard to said seat member.
 8. A sealingapparatus as in claim 7 further comprising:a. at least one guide pinextending from said guard arms, and b. a corresponding orifice in saidseat member for receiving said at least one guide pin for preventingsaid plate member and said spring plate from rotating.
 9. A sealingapparatus as in claim 1 wherein said plate member and projections are ofplastic construction.
 10. A plate valve comprising:a. a seat memberhaving fluid passage ports therein, b. a movable plate member in contactwith and controlling the flow of fluid through said ports, said platemember having at least one integrally formed projection on one sidethereof, and c. a flat, stationary spring plate spaced from said platemember and having at least one corresponding resilient spring fingerthereon in contact with said at least one plate member projection tobias said plate member against said fluid passage ports such thatsufficient fluid pressure in said ports forces said plate member againstand bends said spring fingers so as to simultaneously and uniformlyuncover said fluid passage ports.
 11. A plate valve comprising:a. a seatmember having fluid passage ports therein, b. a movable plate member incontact with and controlling the flow of fluid through said ports, c. aflat, stationary spring plate having at least one resilient springfinger thereon, and d. a projection formed on said at least one springfinger in contact with said plate member to bias said plate memberagainst said fluid passage ports such that sufficient fluid pressure insaid ports forces said plate member against and bends said spring fingerso as to simultaneously and uniformly uncover said fluid passage ports.12. A spring member for use in a plate valve comprising:a. a circularplate as said spring plate, b. a central portion of said spring platefor fixedly attaching said spring plate to said valve, c. at least twoarms radially extending from said central portion of said spring plateand d. a plurality of concentric resilient flat spring fingers extendingarcuately from each of said arms at different radii.